Recently a report came out in the US from Harvard Medical School that said that a diet high in red meat can shorten life expectancy. These reports come out regularly enough, and in fact we are told that sugar, caffeine, salt etc etc are all killers .... if you eat enough (or rather too much of them). This research found that eating just one extra portion (about the size of a pack of cards) of steak, lamb or pork every day increased a person’s risk of dying from heart disease by 16 per cent, and raised their chance of developing a fatal cancer by 13 per cent. Processed meats (such as hams, sausages and burgers) are more deadly. Adding two rashers of bacon or a sausage to breakfast everyday increased the chance of premature death by 20 per cent .... but many believe its the salt levels in processed meat that make them so deadly.
The key to this finding is the word 'daily' .... you have to eat red meat every day, then add extra portions. In fact I was going to ignore it completely, but for the fact that a British farmer came on the radio and said that we should ignore the report, as its the way Americans treat their meat, and their propensity for processed fatty meats such as burgers which had slanted the results. He then explained that American farmers regularly laced US Beef with growth agents and anti biotic, and finished them on maize wheat's rather than grass. He then added that in the UK, and EU generally, doesn't allow any of these drugs so these issues wouldn't arise in the UK. In fact studies show that grass-fed cattle have higher levels of beneficial omega 3 fatty acids compared to grain-fed livestock, and these nutrients that can protect against heart disease. This issue has caused trade issues between the US and EU over the past decade.
Now we know that female oestrogen has actually polluted the environment - so despite denials by the US farmers - these drugs must be making their way into the US food chain (with what effects, no one knows) and this must impact on the health of the general meat eating population. So it stands to reason that the reports on red meat eating in the US should be influenced by this fact. Incidentally there is a simple and cheap way of protecting ourselves from the oestrogen in the water which is detailed on the this link ...... but you can bet that we don't use it.
Also, in the US 'red meat' includes large amounts of 'burgers', which are so cholesterol laden that they make you wince, for instance how many calories in a burger? Depends where you are in the world, a Big Mac, purchased in
I was also surprised to find that a medium milkshake has 420 calories, medium fries contain 330 calories and a Chicken Legend burger, which I stupidly assumed would contain fewer calories than other sandwiches, contains a whopping 535 calories. The recommended daily average calorie intake for men is 2,500, and for women it's 2,000 and this means if anyone goes into a famous burger joint and order a Chicken Legend with medium fries and a milkshake, they'll be consuming 51.4% (more for women) of their recommended daily calories. This is major factor in obesity and heart disease in the West generally and the US in particular.
These sorts of health concerns over read meat are even being manifested in the US, where concern over what's in burgers, fast food restaurants and school meals has led to calls to stop selling or serving so-called "pink slime" beef to their pupils at mealtimes. This is the finely ground beef (and other bits) that makes up the major constituent of burgers, sausages, etc
Now to suggest that we stop eating all red meat is ridiculous as its in our genes ... for example marks found on fossilised animal bones in Ethiopia show that one of our ancestors (the ape-like Australopithecus afaransis), was butchering antelope and cattle for meat 3.4 million years ago. So we are adapted to it and many anthropologists believe mankind needed to switch to meat-eating to give us the nutrition essential to evolve bigger, smarter brains. However shorter life lengths meant that cancer was hardly a worry, you died of too many other things first, so we shouldn't perhaps eat as much meat as them.
The main point of this is that the food fascists are on the march, and after the success of the anti cigarette lobby, and the drive of the anti alcohol campaigners, we can expect the anti meat lobby to start pushing to ban red meat.
The key to this finding is the word 'daily' .... you have to eat red meat every day, then add extra portions. In fact I was going to ignore it completely, but for the fact that a British farmer came on the radio and said that we should ignore the report, as its the way Americans treat their meat, and their propensity for processed fatty meats such as burgers which had slanted the results. He then explained that American farmers regularly laced US Beef with growth agents and anti biotic, and finished them on maize wheat's rather than grass. He then added that in the UK, and EU generally, doesn't allow any of these drugs so these issues wouldn't arise in the UK. In fact studies show that grass-fed cattle have higher levels of beneficial omega 3 fatty acids compared to grain-fed livestock, and these nutrients that can protect against heart disease. This issue has caused trade issues between the US and EU over the past decade.
Now we know that female oestrogen has actually polluted the environment - so despite denials by the US farmers - these drugs must be making their way into the US food chain (with what effects, no one knows) and this must impact on the health of the general meat eating population. So it stands to reason that the reports on red meat eating in the US should be influenced by this fact. Incidentally there is a simple and cheap way of protecting ourselves from the oestrogen in the water which is detailed on the this link ...... but you can bet that we don't use it.
Also, in the US 'red meat' includes large amounts of 'burgers', which are so cholesterol laden that they make you wince, for instance how many calories in a burger? Depends where you are in the world, a Big Mac, purchased in
- Australia is 480 calories
- UK is 490 calories
- U.S. version has 540 calories (260 from fat)
I was also surprised to find that a medium milkshake has 420 calories, medium fries contain 330 calories and a Chicken Legend burger, which I stupidly assumed would contain fewer calories than other sandwiches, contains a whopping 535 calories. The recommended daily average calorie intake for men is 2,500, and for women it's 2,000 and this means if anyone goes into a famous burger joint and order a Chicken Legend with medium fries and a milkshake, they'll be consuming 51.4% (more for women) of their recommended daily calories. This is major factor in obesity and heart disease in the West generally and the US in particular.
These sorts of health concerns over read meat are even being manifested in the US, where concern over what's in burgers, fast food restaurants and school meals has led to calls to stop selling or serving so-called "pink slime" beef to their pupils at mealtimes. This is the finely ground beef (and other bits) that makes up the major constituent of burgers, sausages, etc
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| Red Meat Processed Products and Source Material |
Now to suggest that we stop eating all red meat is ridiculous as its in our genes ... for example marks found on fossilised animal bones in Ethiopia show that one of our ancestors (the ape-like Australopithecus afaransis), was butchering antelope and cattle for meat 3.4 million years ago. So we are adapted to it and many anthropologists believe mankind needed to switch to meat-eating to give us the nutrition essential to evolve bigger, smarter brains. However shorter life lengths meant that cancer was hardly a worry, you died of too many other things first, so we shouldn't perhaps eat as much meat as them.
The main point of this is that the food fascists are on the march, and after the success of the anti cigarette lobby, and the drive of the anti alcohol campaigners, we can expect the anti meat lobby to start pushing to ban red meat.
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